In today’s blog, Dr. Wu talks about the revolutionary CEREC® milling system, a technology that can make treatment results more precise and your experience with us more convenient.
CEREC® allows us to restore teeth with dental crowns, bridges, veneers, and implants in a single visit with precision and accuracy that is second-to-none. This technology has taken out all of the guesswork and the errors associated with a dental laboratory and saved time and money for both patients and dentists. Conventional crown and bridge work in offices that do not incorporate CEREC® are 40-50% less accurate and precise. The reason behind this is the method.
Restorations Using the CEREC® System
A CEREC® dentist would prep the tooth, scan a digital image of the tooth or teeth that were prepped (as well as the bite), then design the restoration on a computer. The crown will then be milled from a block of porcelain. The entire process can take less than an hour and be completed in a single visit. Some of the other major benefits include: no messy impressions that can cause gagging; no temporary crowns or bridges falling off causing pain; and no guesswork as to whether or not the crown or bridge will fit.
Restorations Using Traditional Methods
Without CEREC®, a dentist would have to prep the tooth or teeth, take an impression and send the impression to a dental laboratory. The lab then pours up the impressions to create models, designs the crown in wax, fabricates a metal base, paints on the porcelain, fires this up in the oven, and then adjusts and polishes the crown or bridge on the models. This process usually takes about two weeks to fabricate the final restoration. During that time, the dentist makes a temporary crown or bridge and temporarily cements this to the patient’s teeth. Each step has a margin of error. The initial impression, even if taken while the patient is perfectly still, has a margin of error based on the ability of the dentist and the expansion and contraction of the impression material.
When the stone model of the patient’s mouth is made from the impression, another variability in the accuracy is introduced. Varying powder-to-water ratios to mix the stone and set times, ideal temperatures, and other factors all play a role in the accuracy of the model from the impression (that already has errors in it). Once the model is made, the wax-up is created by another clinician, who must determine the dimensions and shape of the crown by melting wax onto the model and carving this out by hand. There is just way too much variability with this method.
When the crown is created, it is sent back to the dentist. The dentist then must try to affix the new crown or bridge in the place of the temporary. Adjustments and polishing are completed while the restoration is inside the mouth. In a lot of cases, the crown or bridge may not fit and then the whole process must then be redone.
With so much room for error, it’s surprising we were ever able to make an exceptional restoration! Thankfully, CEREC® has made the traditional process antiquated. I use CEREC® for everything!
Contact Sutra Dental Spa
If you would like more information on our same-day restorations, or if you would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Jimmy Wu, please contact Sutra Dental Spa today.
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